Financial Markets and Economy
Glencore Signals Another Tough Year for Its Trading Division (Bloomberg)
Glencore Plc signaled 2016 will be tough going for the worlds largest commodities trading business, cutting earnings guidance for the second straight year at the division that deals raw materials from cotton to coal.
An influential European investor thinks 'we're going to see some high-profile companies go bust' in 2016 (Business Insider)
Are we in a bubble?
It's the question on everyone's lips in the tech world. Startups are closing ever-larger rounds of funding at ever-higher valuations, often with no real revenue to speak off. It's prompted some to speculate that the current state of affairs is unsustainable, and a crunch point or correction is imminent.
These mutual funds are counting on Americans’ love for guns (Market Watch)
Americans have always loved their guns, and a political focus on gun control following the terrorist attacks in California and Paris has only led to higher sales.
Citigroup to take $300 million 'repositioning charge' in fourth quarter (Yahoo! Finance)
Citigroup Inc (C.N) will take a $300 million "repositioning charge" in the fourth quarter to "resize infrastructure and capacity" throughout its businesses, Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said on Wednesday. Citi will also add $300 million to $400 million in loan reserves from the third quarter for energy loans, based on the expectation that oil prices will remain low, Gerspach told the Goldman Sachs U.S. financial services conference. Depressed oil prices have put several U.S. banks under pressure because of their exposure to loans to oil companies.
World's Highest-Cost Gold Miners Surge on Rand's Meltdown (Bloomberg)
South African gold miners, the worlds highest-cost major producers, surged in Johannesburg trading after President Jacob Zuma fired his finance minister, sending the rand to a record low against the dollar.
Swiss National Bank Maintains Rate at -0.75% (Bloomberg)
The Swiss National Bank left interest rates at a record low and maintained its pledge to intervene if needed to push back against pressure on the “significantly overvalued” franc.
Announcing its decision on Thursday, the SNB said its measures continue to help weaken the currency, which has been a weight on the economy, holding back growth and pushing down inflation.
Dollar struggles amid lingering U.S. economic worries (Market Watch)
The dollar remained under pressure on Thursday in Asia as concerns lingered over the U.S. economic outlook ahead of an expected rate increase by the U.S. Federal Reserve at its policy meeting next week.
The Fed is widely expected to lift short-term interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade, at a time when China’s slowdown is being felt around the world, particularly in commodity markets.
China's economic crisis has flipped its relationship with Africa upside-down (Business Insider)
One of the biggest economic stories over the last decade has been China's increasing involvement in Africa.
China's Yuan Closes at Four-Year Low on Signs PBOC Allowing Drop (Bloomberg)
China's yuan closed at the weakest level in more than four years on signs the central bank is allowing depreciation to boost exports in the run-up to the Federal Reserves interest-rate decision.
Ocado just had its 13th quarter of double-digit sales growth — but shares are crashing (Business Insider)
Ocado celebrated its 13th consecutive quarter of double-digit sales growth on Thursday, announcing a 15% rise in sales in the fourth quarter to £381.6 million ($579.1 million).
Zuma Takes South Africa Economy to Brink as Credit Risks Rise (Bloomberg)
South African President Jacob Zuma took the economy closer to the brink of a junk credit rating after firing his finance minister in a move investors say may undermine fiscal credibility.
As Fed tightening looms, big share repurchasers could be pressured (Business Insider)
For the last several years, big U.S. companies have lived by an unswerving rule: buy back shares to increase returns to shareholders.
Investors, too, have benefited from company spending habits as they bought shares of the biggest repurchasers.
Europe Stock Selloff Deepens, While Glencore Leads Miners' Gains (Bloomberg)
Even a rebound in miners is failing to lift sentiment for Europe’s stock traders.
Burned by China? Come to Default-Free Korea, No. 1 Arranger Says (Bloomberg)
Citigroup Inc., the biggest arranger of offshore note sales from South Korea, says global investors unnerved by Chinese bond defaults may boost demand during a bulge of refinancing issuance from Seoul in 2016.
OPEC says crude-price rout will help clobber U.S. oil industry (Market Watch)
OPEC trimmed its estimates for supplies from outside the group in 2016 on Thursday as it expects the plunge in prices to takes its toll on the U.S. oil industry and other rival producers in the coming months.
Thirty-Year Bonds Are Best Treasury Performers Before Auction (Bloomberg)
Thirty-year Treasuries are the best-performing U.S. government bonds over the past month, with the U.S. scheduled to sell $13 billion of the securities Thursday.
U.S. stock futures point to first gain in four days ahead of claims data (Market Watch)
Wall Street looked set to break a three-day losing run on Thursday, with futures inching higher ahead of weekly jobless claims and an update on government spending.
Emerging Stocks Decline for Seventh Day Amid Fed Rate Jitters (Bloomberg)
Emerging-market stocks headed for the longest losing streak since August, led by health-care companies, as investors switched out of riskier assets before next weeks Federal Reserve meeting. Indonesias rupiah weakened to a two-month low.
Asia is killing Mulberry's sales — so it's hoping its 'Britishness' strategy is going to turn things around (Business Insider)
Asia is still killing off Mulberry's sales. The luxury handbag maker is staging a turnaround but it's not good enough.
So, Mulberry is hoping to "emphasise its Britishness" to get people buying the brand again.
Politics
Putin Proves Obama Prescient as Russia Faces Syria Quagmire (Bloomberg)
U.S. President Barack Obama, facing criticism at home over his Islamic State strategy, is turning out to be right with his prediction that Vladimir Putin’s own campaign in Syria will descend into a quagmire.
Donald Trump Loses Luster When Words Reach the Middle East (NY Times)
Just hours after the Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trumpcalled for a ban on the entry of Muslims into the United States, one of his Middle Eastern business partners, the Dubai-based Landmark Group, responded by removing all Trump-branded products from the shelves of its Lifestyle retail stores.
Technology
To See the Future of Electric Cars, Look East (Bloomberg View)
Nevada is starting to look like the place where the electric car's future will be decided. Last June, Tesla broke ground on a $5 billion battery plant in Sparks, and on Wednesday, Chinese start-up Faraday Futureannounced that it had chosen a Las Vegas suburb as the site for a new $1 billion plant to make electric vehicles. Faraday hopes to roll out acompetitor to Tesla’s flagship Model S in 2017.
This Sound-Absorbing Modular Wall Lets You Build an Office Anywhere (Gizmodo)
Design company Layer has created a new modular system capable of replacing plasterboard walls and temporary partitions. Called Scale, the quick-to-assemble, environmentally-friendly system is claimed to be sound-absorbing, which could be just the ticket if you’re trying to work in an open-plan space.
Health and Life Sciences
Blood Thinner, Certain Diabetes Drugs Are a Bad Combo (Medicine Net)
Taking the blood thinner warfarin at the same time as certain diabetes drugsincreases the risk of hospitalization, a new study warns.
Researchers analyzed data from nearly 466,000 Medicare patients. They found that those who took warfarin along with the diabetesdrugs glipizide or glimepiride — also known as sulfonylureas — had a 22 percent increased risk of making an emergency room visit or being hospitalized for low blood sugar(hypoglycemia).
Oregon Health Plan won’t cover higher-risk home births (Science-Based Medicine)
Oregon Health Plan (OHP), the state’s Medicaid insurer, will no longer cover planned home and birth center births for women whose pregnancies aren’t classified as low risk, based on newly-established criteria. The Health Evidence Review Commission (HERC), a group of experts designated by the state, came up with criteria that will exclude women with a substantial list of conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, previous cesarean section, multiple gestation (more than one fetus) and various complications in previous pregnancies.
Life on the Home Planet
Rare eagle chick born in Philippines (BBC)
A rare Philippine eagle chick has hatched in captivity, giving conservationists hope for the critically endangered bird.
The eaglet, which has yet to be named, is the first of its kind to be born at a conservation centre in the southern Davao province in two years.
